This chronological list of popes of the Catholic Church corresponds to that given in the Annuario Pontificio under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every year by the Roman Curia, the Annuario Pontificio no longer identifies popes by regnal number, stating that it is impossible to decide which pope represented the legitimate succession at various times.[1] The 2001 edition of the Annuario Pontificio introduced "almost 200 corrections to its existing biographies of the popes, from St Peter to John Paul II". The corrections concerned dates, especially in the first two centuries, birthplaces and the family name of one pope.[2]
The term pope (Latin: text=papa|translation=father) is used in several churches to denote their high spiritual leaders (for example Coptic pope). This title in English usage usually refers to the head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic pope uses various titles by tradition, including Summus Pontifex, Pontifex Maximus, and Servus servorum Dei. Each title has been added by unique historical events and unlike other papal prerogatives, is not incapable of modification.[3]
Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Leo IX as number 154. Several changes were made to the list during the 20th century. Christopher was considered a legitimate pope for a long time but was removed due to how he obtained the papacy. Pope-elect Stephen was listed as Stephen II until the 1961 edition, when his name was removed. The decisions of the Council of Pisa (1409) were reversed in 1963 in a reinterpretation of the Western Schism, extending Gregory XII's pontificate to 1415 and classifying rival claimants Alexander V and John XXIII as antipopes.
A significant number of these popes have been recognized as saints, including 48 out of the first 50 consecutive popes, and others are in the sainthood process. Of the first 31 popes, 28 died as martyrs.
The chronology of the early popes is heavily disputed. The first ancient lists of popes were not written until the late 2nd century, after the monarchical episcopate had already developed in Rome. These first lists combined contradictory traditions, and even the succession of the first popes is disputed. The first certain dates are AD 222 and 235, the elections of Urban I and Liberius. The years given for the first 30 popes follow the work of Richard Adelbert Lipsius, which often show a 3-year difference with the traditional dates given by Eusebius of Caesarea.[4] These are also the dates used by the Catholic Encyclopedia.[5]
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| c. 198/199 –
c. 199/200
| Natalius
| style="font-size:85%"|Roma, Italia, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—| style="font-size:85%"|Roman citizen, born in the capital of the Roman Empire. In opposition to pope Zephyrinus. Later reconciled.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 217 – 235
| St Hippolytus
| style="font-size:85%"|c. 170 Asia Minor, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|47 / 65| style="font-size:85%"|Roman citizen of Greek descent (Constitutio Antoniniana). In opposition to Callixtus I, Urban I and Pontian. Later reconciled with Pontian (see below).|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| March 251 – 258
| Novatian
| style="font-size:85%"|c. 200–20 Rome, Italia, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|31–51 / 38–58|style="font-size:85%"| Roman citizen. Founder of Novatianism. In opposition to Cornelius, Lucius I, Stephen I and Sixtus II.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 355 –
22 November 365
| Felix II
| style="font-size:85%"|c. 300 Rome, Italy, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|55 / 65|style="font-size:85%"| Roman citizen. In opposition to Pope Liberius. Installed by Arian-leaning Emperor Constantius II.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 1 October 366 –
16 November 367
| Ursinus
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Italy, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—|style="font-size:85%"| Roman citizen. In opposition to Damasus I. Banished to Gallia by Emperor Valentinian II after a war between two sects and died after 384.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 27 December 418 –
3 April 419
| Eulalius
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Italy, Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"||style="font-size:85%"| Roman citizen. In opposition to Pope Boniface I. Elected on the eve of the election of Boniface, first benefited from the support of the emperor Honorius, but lost it quickly. Exiled in Campania, and died in 423.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 22 November 498 –
Aug 506/8
| Laurence
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Italy, Western Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"||style="font-size:85%"| Roman citizen, later a subject of the (Ostrogothic) Kingdom of Italy. In opposition to Symmachus. Elected on the same day as Symachus, King Theodoric settled in favour of his adversary. Took control of Rome in 501 and remained pope in fact until he died in 506/08.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 22 September 530 –
14 October 530
| Dioscore
| style="font-size:85%"|Alexandria, Aegyptus, Eastern Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"||style="font-size:85%"| (Eastern) Roman citizen of Greek descent. In opposition to Pope Boniface II. Candidate of the Byzantine party, elected by the majority of the cardinals and recognized by Constantinople, he died less than a month after his election.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 22 March 752 –
25 March 752
|| Stephen
| Stephanus| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Duchy of Rome, Exarchate of Ravenna, Eastern Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"|(Eastern) Roman citizen. Was of Roman ethnicity. Previously known as Stephen II. Died three days after his election, having never received episcopal consecration. Some lists still include him. The Vatican sanctioned his addition in the sixteenth century; removed in 1961. He is no longer considered a pope by the Catholic Church.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| October 903 –
January 904
| Christopher
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"| Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Leo V.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 6 December 963 –
26 February 964
| Leo VIII
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States| style="font-size:85%"||style="font-size:85%"| Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. Appointed antipope by Emperor Otto in 963 in opposition to John XII and Benedict V. His pontificate after the deposition of Benedict V is considered legitimate by the modern Catholic Church.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| July 974 –
July 974
| Boniface VII
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States, born Francone Ferucci. In opposition to Benedict VI and Benedict VII.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 20 August 984 –
20 July 985
| Boniface VII
| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"| Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to John XIV and John XV
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| April 997 –
February 998
| John XVI
| style="font-size:85%"|Rossanum, Calabria, Italy, Eastern Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"|Born as an Eastern Roman citizen. In opposition to Gregory V
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 12 June 1012 –
31 December 1012
|| Gregory VI
| Gregorio| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Benedict VIII|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 4 April 1058 –
24 January 1059
|| Benedict X
| Giovanni Mincio di Tuscolo| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Nicholas II.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 30 September 1061 –
1072
|| Honorius II
| Pietro Candalus| style="font-size:85%"|1010 Verona, March of Verona, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|61 / 72| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the March of Verona, was of Italian ethnicity (born after the Placiti Cassinesi was written). In opposition to Pope Alexander II|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 25 June 1080 –
8 September 1100
| | Clement III
| Guibert of Ravenna| style="font-size:85%"|1029 Ravenna, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|51 / 71| style="font-size:85%"|In opposition to Pope Gregory VII, Pope Victor III, Pope Urban II and Pope Paschal II.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 8 September 1100 –
January 1101
|| Theodoric
| Teodorico| style="font-size:85%"|c. 1030 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|70 / 71| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States, was of Lombard ethnicity. In opposition to Pope Paschal II
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| January 1101 –
February 1102
|| Adalbert
| Adalberto
O.S.B.| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States, was of Lombard ethnicity. In opposition to Pope Paschal II
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —| 8 November 1105 –
11 April 1111
|| Sylvester IV
| Maguinulf| style="font-size:85%"|1050 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|49 / 55 (†56)| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States, was of German ethnicity. In opposition to Paschal II.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 10 March 1118 –
20 April 1121
|| Gregory VIII
| Maurice Baurdain| style="font-size:85%"|c. 1060 Limousin, Occitania, France| style="font-size:85%"|58 / 61 (†77)| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of France, was of Occitan ethnicity. In opposition to Gelasius II and Callixtus II.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 16 December 1124–
16 December 1124
|| Celestine II
| Teobaldo Boccapecora| style="font-size:85%"|1050 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|74 / 74 (†76)| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Honorius II.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 14 February 1130 –
25 January 1138
|| Anacletus II
| Pietro Pierleoni
O.S.B.| style="font-size:85%"|1090 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|40 / 48| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Innocent II.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 15 March 1138 –
29 May 1138
|| Victor IV
| Gregorio Conti| style="font-size:85%"|Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|—| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of throne the Papal States. In Opposition to Pope Innocent II
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 7 September 1159 –
20 April 1164
|| Victor IV
| Ottaviano dei Crescenzi Ottaviani di Monticelli| style="font-size:85%"|1095 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|64 / 69| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Pope Alexander III.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 28 April 1164 –
22 September 1168
|| Paschal III
| Guido di Crema| style="font-size:85%"|1110 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|54 / 58| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Alexander III.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 30 September 1168 –
29 August 1178
|| Callixtus III
| Giovanni di Struma
O.S.B.| style="font-size:85%"|1090 Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|78 / 88| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Alexander III.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 29 September 1179 –
January 1180
|| Innocent III
| Lando di Sezze (or Lanzo)| style="font-size:85%"|1120 Sezze, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire| style="font-size:85%"|59 / 60 (†63)| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to Alexander III.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 12 May 1328–
25 July 1330
| | Nicholas V
| Pietro Rainalducci,
O.F.M.| style="font-size:85%"|1260 Corvaro, Papal States| style="font-size:85%"|68 / 70 (†73)| style="font-size:85%"|Subject and later the claimant of the throne of the Papal States. In opposition to John XXII.|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 20 September 1378 –
16 September 1394
| | Clement VII
| Robert de Genève| style="font-size:85%"|1342 Chateau d'Annecy, County of Savoy, H.R.E.| style="font-size:85%"|36 / 52| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of France. In opposition to Urban VI (1378–89) and Boniface IX (1389–1404)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 28 September 1394 –
23 May 1423
| | Benedict XIII
| Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor| style="font-size:85%"|25 November 1328 Illueca, Aragon| style="font-size:85%"|66 / 94| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of Aragon. In opposition to Boniface IX (1389–1404), Innocent VII (1404–06), Gregory XII (1406–15), Martin V (1417–31) and Pisan Antipopes Alexander V (1409–10) and John XXIII (1410–15)
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 30 June 1409 –
3 May 1410
| | Alexander V
| Pétros Philárgēs,
O.F.M.| style="font-size:85%"|1339 Neapoli, Candia, Republic of Venice| style="font-size:85%"|70 / 71| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a citizen of the Republic of Venice. Was of Greek ethnicity. Western Schism. In opposition to Gregory XII. Considered a legitimate pope until 1963 and is numbered as such to this day.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 25 May 1410 –
30 May 1415
| | John XXIII
| Baldassarre Cossa| style="font-size:85%"|1365 Procida, Naples| style="font-size:85%"|45 / 50 (†54)| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of Naples. Western Schism. In opposition to Gregory XII. Convened Council of Constance. Deposed. Became dean of the College of Cardinals in 1417. Was considered a legitimate pope until 1958.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 10[6] or 20[7] June 1423 –
26 July 1429
| | Clement VIII
| Gil Sánchez Muñoz y Carbón| style="font-size:85%"|1369 Teruel, Aragon| style="font-size:85%"|54 / 60 (†77)| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of Aragon. Western Schism. In opposition to Martin V.
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" || 1424 –
1429
|| Antipope Benedict XIV| Bernard Garnier| style="font-size:85%"|France| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"| Born as a subject of the Kingdom of France. Two antipope claimants[8]
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" || 1430 –
1437
|| Antipope Benedict XIV| Jean Carrier| style="font-size:85%"|France| style="font-size:85%"|| style="font-size:85%"| Born as a subject of the Kingdom of France. Two antipope claimants[9]
|- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccc;"| style="text-align:center;" | —
| 5 November 1439 –
7 April 1449
| | Felix V
| Amadeus| style="font-size:85%"|4 September 1383 Chambéry, France| style="font-size:85%"|56 / 65 (†67)| style="font-size:85%"|Born as a subject of the Kingdom of France. In opposition to Eugene IV[10] and Nicholas V.[11] Also ruled as count of Savoy.
|-
Longest-lived pope on record. Died on 31 December 2022, in Vatican.[12]
51 popes and 6 antipopes (in italics) have been members of religious orders, including 12 members of third orders. They are listed by order as follows:
| Augustinians | Order of Saint Augustine | 1 | Eugene IV | 6 | |||
| Canons Regular | 4 | Honorius II, Innocent II, Lucius II, Adrian IV | |||||
| Premonstratense | 1 | Gregory VIII | |||||
| Benedictines | Order of Saint Benedict | 22 | Gregory I, Boniface IV, Adeodatus II, Leo IV, John IX, Leo VII, John XVI, Sylvester II, Sergius IV, Stephen IX, Gregory VII, Victor III, Urban II, Paschal II, Adalbert, Gelasius II, Anacletus II, Callixtus III, Celestine V, Clement VI, Urban V, Pius VII | 23 | |||
| Camaldolese | 1 | Gregory XVI | |||||
| Cistercians | 2 | Eugene III, Benedict XII | 2 | ||||
| Dominicans | 7 | Innocent V, Benedict XI, Nicholas V, Pius V, Benedict XIII, Benedict XV | 7 | ||||
| Franciscans | Order of Friars Minor | 5 | Nicholas IV, Nicholas V, Alexander V, Sixtus IV, Julius II | 17 | |||
| Order of Friars Minor Conventual | 2 | Sixtus V, Clement XIV | |||||
| Secular Franciscan Order | 10 | Gregory IX, Gregory X, Martin V, Innocent XII, Clement XII, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius X, Pius XI, John XXIII | |||||
| Jesuits | 1 | Francis | 1 | ||||
| Theatines | 1 | Paul IV | 1 | ||||
| Total | 57 | 57 | |||||
Regnal numbers follow the usual convention for European monarchs. The first pope who chooses a unique name is not usually identified by an ordinal, John Paul I being the exception. Antipopes are treated as pretenders, and their numbers are reused by those considered to be legitimate popes. However, there are anomalies in the numbering of the popes. Several numbers were mistakenly increased in the Middle Ages because the records were misunderstood. Several antipopes were also kept in the sequence, either by mistake or because they were previously considered to be true popes.[13]